Russia has started importing gasoline from India for the first time as repeated Ukrainian attacks on its refineries have deepened fuel shortages in the domestic market. Global energy markets continue to be affected by the twin impact of two major geopolitical conflicts.While Ukraine has intensified its campaign targeting Russian refineries, tensions between the US and Iran have continued in the Middle East. Together, these disruptions have tightened fuel supplies, prompting Russia, traditionally an exporter of refined fuels, to prohibit exports of both gasoline and diesel in order to prioritise domestic demand.
In a first, Russia imports gasoline from India
According to Kpler data quoted in a Bloomberg report, this marks Moscow’s first import of gasoline from the South Asian nation. The long-distance shipment underscores the severity of the supply crunch that Russia is facing.Also Read | Reverse oil flow: India supplies gasoline to Russia – why it mattersKpler data shows the first cargo arrived on August 5, with additional shipments expected to follow. Nayara Energy Ltd, the Indian refiner backed by Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft PJSC, has emerged as a supplier. The fuel is being transported through a chain of Russian-linked tankers, involving ship-to-ship transfers off the coast of Egypt, the Bloomberg report said.“The emergence of Indian barrels is particularly notable,” said Sumit Ritolia, lead analyst at Kpler. He said the shipments, alongside continued imports from Belarus and other neighbouring markets, demonstrate “the severity of the current domestic gasoline imbalance, and the extent to which lower refinery runs are reshaping Russia’s traditional product trade flows.”EA Analytics estimated that, following successive attacks, Russia’s crude processing averaged 3.6 million barrels a day in July, roughly one-third below the normal seasonal level. Since then, Ukraine has stepped up its strikes, targeting five refineries last week and at least two more this week.After being sanctioned by the European Union in July last year, Nayara Energy has increasingly depended on so-called dark-fleet tankers and ship-to-ship transfer operations to import crude and export refined products.Its 400,000-barrel-per-day refinery at Vadinar on India’s west coast has also been seeking to diversify its export markets after one of its major buyers, Hindustan Petroleum Corp., recently increased its own fuel production in the region.For the first shipment, the Russian-flagged products tanker Cyclone, loaded around 42,000 tonnes of gasoline at Vadinar on June 18, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.The cargo was subsequently transferred to the Oman-flagged tanker Garnet through a ship-to-ship operation at Damietta Port off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast on July 6. Garnet later arrived in Russia in early August.Also Read | 100% tariffs: Why India may ignore Trump threat and continue buying Russian crude oil
More shipments to follow
Additional shipments appear to be in the pipeline. According to Kpler, the product tanker Varg loaded nearly 40,000 tonnes of gasoline at Vadinar on July 6 and is believed to have completed a ship-to-ship transfer at Damietta toward the end of July, based on changes in the vessel’s draft. Such transfers are commonly used to reduce overall voyage times for individual ships.Kpler has not confirmed the receiving vessel for that cargo, although it identified Beast as a likely candidate. The tanker was present at Damietta and showed an increase in draft between July 30 and 31. While Beast had declared Morocco’s Tangier as its destination, tracking data showed it subsequently sailed past the port and is now heading north in the Atlantic Ocean with the cargo still onboard.Ship-tracking data also showed that another products tanker, the Cameroon-flagged Photon, departed Vadinar on July 13 before transferring its gasoline cargo to the Russia-flagged Talisman at Damietta during July 28-29.With the exception of Garnet, all of the vessels involved are classed under the Russian shipping register. Every ship has been sanctioned by the European Union, while Garnet and Talisman are also subject to US sanctions.“The final destination of Talisman and Beast remains unconfirmed but the emerging trading pattern suggests Damietta STS hub continues to facilitate the movement of Indian-origin gasoline toward Russian import channels,” Kpler said in a report.Also Read | Beijing’s billion-barrel weapon: Why India must prepare for China-driven oil prices
